"Shadow-meld? That sounds interesting," says Rosa. "I imagine there will be guards or crew bellow decks, so I hope you are very good at sneaking. Free as many prisoners as you can and get them to overpower the priests once they hear the rest of boarding the ship."

She gives Tylluan a nods. "Thank you. Once we board it would be great if you could swoop in, grab a priest and drop them overboard."

She considers what Light Vessel has to say. "I don't plan on killing any of the priests - any that we knock overboard we will pick up later - but they are kidnappers, so a certain amount of roughhousing is acceptable. Once we secure the ship and free the prisoners we'll question the priests once we and find out what they were doing, then we'll let them scurry back to whatever hole they came from, and hopefully they'll think twice before kidnapping other people."

Tylluan swivels his head and stares at Light. Well now. This one has a good idea. Of course, any idea that lowers my personal danger and requires the least amount of effort to be exerted on someone else's behalf is a good idea. He ruffles his feather as he inwardly chuckles.

"Perhaps some scouting to ascertain the disposition of crew and prisoners would be in order, yes?" He bobs his head toward Murleena. "If this one can get belowdecks without raising the alarm, I can circle the vessel and survey the layout of the upper deck and locations of the crew. Then we can compare observations and formulate the wisest course of action, yes?"

"There are very few better than me at sneaking." She said with a nod, replying to them all as a couple of them had asked her the same question.

"And yes, Shadow Meld. Would you like to see?" She asked Rosa, simply.

"This is something to consider everyone, the longer I am doing things below decks on that ship, the longer anyone might need to be above decks causing a diversion. I could likely find what they are upto, and then start working on the prisoner's after." She explained. "The other options is, I free the prisoners, and get them to help you overpower the priests, I could use that moment of chaos to find clues. That way if something happens and you and the prisoner's have to flee the ship we can still flee with evidence."

Moft looks up at Light.  If anything, he was watching the group talk, shifting on his feet.  He was ansy, trying to remain calm while the group discussed.  When Rosa pipes in, talking about freeing the prisoners to fight, his eyes widen and he pipes up.

"We... we can't make them fight!  It's... just a bunch of old women and men.  A half-dozen lot, maybe half are in any shape.  They aren't fit... may have broken bones from their kidnapping.  O-or otherwise injured."

He thumps his little fist against his hip.  "But... beating them, yes.  If you have a brig, we may be able to give their leaders to others."

Murleena considered for a moment Moft's words. "Mister Tylluan, I have another idea that may require your assistance. Considering what Moft has said if I can get the prisoner's off the ship and into the water, can you retrieve them and get them to our ship?"

Rosa says to Tylluan, "Having you scout out their ship first is an excellent idea. See how many people are above decks, and see if any are keeping a good watch. Then on your second trip you'll take Murleena. Is that ok? I don't want to tire you out. Later on it would be great if you were swooping around while the rest of are boarding."

She says to Moft first, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise the prisoners were so old. Why would they want to kidnap them at all?" She then says to Murleena, "I like the idea of you freeing the prisoners and getting them to jump into the water, but even that might be too much for them. Hrm..." She raps her fingers on the table as she thinks. "Try freeing them first and get them ready for a quick getaway, just in case. Don't get into a fight below decks though; but if that happens bring it up on deck so we can support you."

Rosa sounds confident (perhaps overconfident?) "I'm sure that if we surprise them and attack them with much gusto and flamboyance we'll quickly cower them into surrender. Tylluan will be swooping about and knocking people overboard; Murleena leaping from the shadows and hissing and scratching; Light will be blinding them and tossing them overboard too. Don't worry, we'll fish them out afterwards. I'll be creating bangs, smoke and flashes. No doubt some will attack us with clubs, so I'll have to shoot them, but I'll load my pistols with buckshot so it shouldn't hurt too much."

Finally she says to Murleena, "Perhaps you could give us a demonstration of this shadow-meld ability you have?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:20, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

Tylluan gives Murleena a lazy blink of his eyes. Is this what it is like to work with others in a common task? This... this changing of courses of action? How does anything actually get done in a timely fashion? Of course, when I act, I do so after considering possible outcomes, so perhaps this is the same, but scattered between additional minds? Aloud he merely says, "Of course I can."

Tylluan listens as Rosa further embellishes their course of action. "That seems like a sensible way to begin. Once we are within sight of their ship, I can fly circles around it to see where the people are, on deck."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:57, Sat 15 Jan 2022.

"Getting them into the water, one at a time, might be a good means of escape for them. But never more than one at a time in the water because of their age." She nodded, agreeing that all in the water might be to much, but one at a time might be good. "Trust me, few hate water more than I do."

"Sure, I can demonstrate it." She said with another nod. A quick look around the room for where the shadows were and were not, caused her to give herself another nod. Finally she would step into the shadow, as she did so her body would slow disappear into it. The more she stepped into the darkness of the shadow, the more she would disappear into it until finally, she could not be seen nor heard at all, in any way.

It took a while, particularly for Light, Tylluan, Moft, for the crew to discuss.  But the ship had a ways to go to reach their target.  With dark sails up and lights low, the Darkmaiden's Dance crept up towards their target.  The maroon-sailed ship, wide berth and all, was too slow... and distance closed all too quickly.

Over the night air, there was sounds coming from the larger ship - hammering, talking, the occasional shout.  The ship was surprisingly active, lights moving across the deck as people were moving about.  Something was going on belowdecks, as a loud noise, like a heavy rumble... or heavy fart... rattled every few minutes.  Small bursts of smoke rose up occasionally from unclear cause, and there once was a dim roar from the ship's belly...

Rosa was left to guess, once-again, how many aboard there might be.  Were these people moving 'round shift?  Or was it only this active for something going on within it?  When were they expecting to sleep?

Furthermore, the ship had turned again.  It had began moving east while the Dance closed in, changing its heading entirely... coming up towards a set of smaller islands that came off Faqu's islands' back.  It was a near thing, but there was no indication that the Dance had been seen.

And their target was slowing.  It was coming near those islands.  A set of ruins, old stone buildings weather-worn and blasted by the beach, sat in the moonlight.  ...Including an old tower once used to signal ships.

The Dance nears.  Near enough for a bird to take flight, anyway...

Rosa watches Murleena fade into the shadows. "Impressive. That will certainly come in handy."

Rosa goes out on deck to check their progress, then heads back inside. "They've changed course and it looks like they're heading to a small island with some sort of ruins on it. We can catch them before they get there, but maybe we should wait? They've got a big crew. We're taking a big risk boarding them – though I still think we can pull it off – but it might be easier if we wait until they're ashore. Murleena will have a much easier time scouting them out, and Tylluan can do some overhead passes too. If they take the prisoners ashore I think we'll have a chance to rescue them unseen. So, it really comes down to boarding them in a big and bold display, or sneaking around on land and hopefully not being seen. What do people think?"

Tylluan blinks as Murleena fades into the darkness, but says nothing. Quite an unusual ability. I wonder if she learned it, or if it's some inborn talent. Magic, perhaps? I suppose it doesn't matter in the end, as long as it's of some use.

On deck, he waits and watches with the others as they gain on the ship. "That ship certainly is a noisy thing, yes? We are close enough now. I will fly around them to see what they are doing. If they are talking loud enough to be heard from here, I will be able to understand them once I am closer. My people have exceptional hearing after all. After I return, we can decide based on what I discover."

Without waiting for acknowledgement, Tylluan unfolds his wings and flaps his way into the air with powerful sweeps. Once he reaches a sufficient height, he tilts his wings and makes for the priests' ship.

Tylluan takes off into the air.  Disappearing silently into the night, he finds it no trouble to get overtop the strange craft, avoiding intermittent plumes of smoke.

From above, he can see flickers of light and flame from the ship's center - some sort of cargo hatch?  There is a gun deck, but below that deck is something else... where the cargo should be?  Whatever is on that floor is setting off strange light and flame, and Tylluan can see people scurrying up and down a steep stair going to that level.

Cargo hatches... should go all the way towards the cargo level, but heavy wooden doors seal it off at the gun-deck level.  Not up top?  It looks like different construction from the rest of the ship.  It looked like there was crew to operate that part of the ship, whatever was going on down there, as well as crew for the sails.

The craft had a name marking on it, "Twelfth Beacon".

It also had a landing party.  Tylluan could see a group of figures gathering on deck, prepping a ship.  Indeed, the ship had already begun lowering sails and preparing to lay anchor.

Ahead, there was a string of tiny islands and rocky mounds that came off the larger island.  Remnants of stone buildings poked out of the surface of the water, as well as a large tower that was once for watching... and signaling, if there was trouble.  It was this rocky shore that seemed to be their objective...

Tylluan glides lower, trying to pick up what people are saying, to get a clearer idea of what they may be up to. It's clear they are planning to go ashore, but I'd like to find out WHY they're going ashore, if possible.

OOC:
PER Roll:
Hearing PER: 17-
Roll: 8

While Tylluan is off scouting Rosa changes their course to a more south-easterly setting. She goes down to half-sails and plans to skirt the small island and find a quiet bay or beach where they can anchor. She tells the others, "There's too many crew on board. We're going to have to be crafty and rescue the prisoners when they're on the island."

She asks Murleena to keep watch in the crows-nest. "I can barely see where we're going, so I'm relying on you to keep an eye out for white water and breaking waves and to make sure we're not going to run into any rocks or submerged reefs."

Tylluan wheels overhead.  It's hard to hear much... for a normal person.  But he has the advantage of being far from normal, and the ship's noises already have begun to stop.  Indeed, the rumble stops with the ship, and after the splash of the anchor noises settle down.

Two boats were being set out.  In addition, there was something that looked like a raft or float.  Crew were gathering on the deck, and there was some shouting and talking.  They were wearing red robes, but many had them hanging open... some sort of workclothes underneath were the standard.  They were wearing largely some sort of vest jacket with pouches, and toolbelts, as well as some sort of harness.  "Anchor's dropped!" "Water's stable." "The hell happened to the dive gear?" "Prisoners coming!  Where's Grey?" There was another shout, someone scrambling up from the gundeck below.  "Equipment's ready to be hauled out, but the rail mechanism's still damaged."

Despite whatever was going on, another group was coming up from the quarterdeck.  These ones were talking with the others, checking things, and waiting while other crewmembers began lowering the boats.  They also carried long things that looked like hooked poles of some kind, a sharp spear-tip set at their top.  With this group, coming in the back, were three figures... an old woman and old man, their hands bound in front of them, rope leading to a tall but lean man... unfamiliar, but wearing a robe that had yellow and gold patterns around his shoulders and hood.

He seemed to be an authority, as others looked up to him... briefly.  Yet much of the activity, the chaos, still continued on even as this leader moved up towards the boats.

In reply to Atlas Blue GM (msg # 45):

After finishing his Galley duties and closing up, Light goes above deck to get his own take on things. The sea breeze and sound of the waves at night brought him a sense of calm despite the current events going on with Farisha and the others.

He made his way to the bow and looked out across the water, letting his cyborg eye's red mode sharpen his focus, as it and his regular eye slowly adapted as best it could to the starlit night.

Should he go with the rest of the crew and potentially reveal his cyborg nature to the High Light, or stay with and guard the ship?

He didn't want anyone to get hurt, even if they were bad enough to take elderly people hostage... yet friends don't let friends get hurt.

His hand gripped the tea towel at his side.

He drew in a breath and held it before releasing it.
'Guess I'm in for better or worse.' he said to no one in particular.

Once Tylluan is sure the prisoners are being moved, he silently banks around and flaps back to the ship. He swoops out of the darkness and lands on the deck near the others, and shakes out his feathers. "They're taking the prisoners ashore. I'm not sure what they are doing, but I think it has something to do with going underwater. They mentioned something about... diving equipment, whatever that is." He looks at the Captain and blinks. "Some of them are armed with some sort of spear. A hooked pole with a spear point at one end. There is also a man with gold ornamentation on his robes. He looked like he was the leader."

Murleena nodded to Rosa. "Alright, I can do that." Then with a step back into the shadows she was gone in a wisp of darkness, walking out of the shadows of the crows nest keeping an eye out for anything.

Upon Tylluan's return she would perk an ear up at what he says. "...UNDER the water? I hate ABOVE the water, now we have to go BELOW it?"

Rosa pilots the ship to the leeward side of the island, dropping anchor at the first vaguely suitable anchorage spot. She tries to get to within 50 feet of land so Murleena can shadow-hop to shore, otherwise she'll have to use the row-boat like the rest of them. She uses her astrolabe and makes a couple of notes in a small book. She says, "It's two hours to midnight. Gather your gear and dress in something black..." She looks at Tylluan and Murleena. "...and I'll dress in something black. Let's scout the place out and see if we can figure out how to free those prisoners. I want to sneak onto their boat too. I've got an idea about how we can create a big distraction." A big grin spreads across her face.

She goes to her cabin and gets changed, putting on black cotton trousers, a black corset and a black coat (and even black knickers if anyone dares to ask). She ties her hair back and covers it with a black silk bandanna. She sheaths her sword, tucks her two flintlocks into her belt, and drapes her bandoleer over her shoulder. It has pouches which contain spare cartridges of dragon-powder and bombs that flash or go bang.

Hugh & Dolph have lowered one of the row-boats over the side. She rows to shore anyone who can't get there their own way.

In reply to Rosanhi the Red (msg # 49):

Light grabs a dark blue sarong he uses to wait food sometimes and swaps his regular green one out for it.

He gets his Battle Chef wares together and some rope with a grapnel and boards the rowboat.

'I'm not that sneaky, so I'll be further back. Signal me if you need help, I'll do what I can.'

He asks Tylluan if he can spit any good vantage spots to watch/'snipe' from that are far enough from the High Light in case he can offer some cover fire... despite having no apparent ranged weapons on him.

Tylluan shrugs. "I don't plan on getting in the water either. It takes forever to dry my feathers out." Inwardly, he sighs. How did I allow myself to be a part of this debacle? I just want to travel, and enjoy life, and indulge myself in all ways available to me. Is that too much to ask? I suppose it's my own fault for being helpful.

When Light asks if he knows any good vantage points, Tylluan blinks. "I was focused on the ship and what was occurring on board. I suppose I can see if there is anyplace that affords a good view of what's going on, once we know where they are going."

With the Dance sliding as close to shore as they can afford, Rosa got the rowboat ready.  From here, they would have to take it to shore... except for Tylluan.  Even if the Tytonian wasn't interested in what was going on, he was invested in making sure this captain made it back in one piece... and to dole out some punishment to boot.

Light, Rosa, Murleena, and Moft take the rowboat ashore.  Moft was silent for the discussion of the plan.  If nothing else, he seemed ansy, angry.  He wasn't in a clear mind, and he knew it.  His fingers stayed near his weapon, and waited.

They came ashore.  It was late, more than 2 hours until night's mid.  The moon gleamed, but it didn't give them much to work with.  Fortunately, most of them only needed that much.

Further up the shore, towards the ruins, the rowboats had come ashore.  They were heading back, both of them, while the group gathered on the shore's edge.  Light can see two prisoners, both looking old... Farisha's old frame was recognizable, but her face wasn't visible.  They were bound with rope, surrounded by almost a dozen of these priests.

Many of them were pulling out strange equipment from the long 'raft' that was rowed up to the shore.  The rowboats were heading back... and there was a figure with some kind of gold-marked robes, moving next to the two prisoners.

Whatever they intended, they were getting set up to start.  There was still some time yet to prepare...

Murleena just stared at the 'small' boat for several long moments before she boarded it. Once in the thing she would sit on the floor of the thing, knees to chest, so that she did not have to see just how much closer to the sea she actually was now. "...if I had to be on a boat, I like bigger boats better. Ships, yes ships." She muttered to herself.

She'd peak up now and then, but just enough so that she could see the shore and not the water.

In reply to Murleena (msg # 53):

Light watched Murleena's reaction to being on a rowboat with a tinge of sympathy. It had to be tough on the catfolk. He feels a bit guilty for not offering to take the oars before Rosa grabbed them, but instead keeps an eye on Moft and Murleena instead to ensure neither of the landwalkers end up in the drink.

Once to shore, he hops out and begins pulling the rowboat up and securing it while the others debark, holding it steady for them so their shifting weight doesn't lead to any easily avoidable injuries in their haste to once again gain land.

Upon noting Farisha as one of two hostages brought out with their entourage, Light's cyborg eye colour shifts to Green beneath the covering.

Once they're onshore Rosa organises their marching order; Murleena in front, Rosa a few paces behind, then Moft, then Light bringing up the rear. She asks Tylluan to scout around and works out a few simple signals if he spots danger; one hoot for us to keep our heads down, two hoots if there's danger nearby, and a whole lot squawking if the jig is up and we better run.

Rosa stays low and tries to keep to the shadows as she follows Murleena up the beach. When they get to a good vantage point she stops and gets out her spyglass. She whispers to the others, "They're unloading … something. What is it? I need a closer look. And there are the prisoners. I still don't know why they took them in particular. That man with the gold markings looks like a leader. Target him if it comes down to a fight. The rowboats are heading back. Have they finished unloading? Are they leaving already?"

She trains her spyglass on the ship and tries to figure out if they're staying or getting ready to leave.